The thirty-fifth (Animaniacs)
by sybrinas
Summary: Dance, Dot gets a dance, Yakko is protective ahhhhh


Yakko Warner decidedly sat in an uncomfy pink chair in a store filled with girls getting "the perfect dress" for different occasions. Around every corner came an overly-friendly face asking if they needed any help or with yet another suggestion on apparel. He'd been greeted by these near-terrifying faces enough times to the point he accepted the fact he would have nightmares of them that night. It didn't really matter right now though. The young toon may be half asleep, and bored out of his mind, but his sister was enjoying herself, and really, he couldn't ask for too much more.  
The eldest Warner watched as his younger sister tried on dress after dress at store after store. He'd grown bored after four stores, while his younger brother was bored at the first. Wakko had been pestering all the girls throughout the stores, with the usual "Hello Nurse," while Yakko stayed near his sister. She was very serious about getting the perfect dress, and Yakko was determined to help. Whether he liked it or not. Every once in awhile Wakko would jump by either chasing a teen who was probably looking for her prom dress, or simply to cause a ruckus. Dot was getting to be fully upset with her immediately older brother, mumbling hateful words about him as he zipped by.  
Dot exited the dressing room, donned once again in her iconic pink skirt and flower. Without looking up to Yakko, she made her way back to the racks filled with dresses assorted by colors. She was found in the pink section, as usual. Yakko grinned at the memory of Dot on their way to the mall.

"Absolutely, positively, needs to be pink. It may be cliche, but pink truly is the cutest color. The cutest girl deserves only the cutest color."

Yakko rounded to the other side of the pink dress display, to find something he thought his sister would like, and wouldn't yell at him for suggesting. Yakko had been shocked when he suggested the wrong kind of pink, and he got an ear full from his sister. How was he supposed to know magenta wasn't "pink-enough?" It seemed "pink-enough" to him, but maybe it was because he was ready to get out of the store. An exasperated sigh came from the other side of the rack.  
"Come on sib, wanna just try another store? I'm sure somewhere in this mall is the dress you want." Yakko truly didn't want to go to another store, his feet hurt, and his head was spinning from all the perfumes and colors around him, but his sister meant a little more to him than sleep did.  
"No Yakko! It's the last store in the mall, where else would we go?" Dot responded still shuffling through dresses. "Besides, I don't need Wakko to embarrass me at another store…" Yakko sighed. Just as he was about to bring up that they could try another mall tomorrow, he heard Dot squeal on the other side of the dresses. Rounding the rack, Yakko had yet another pink dress shoved in his face. He pushed it aside enough to see the bright smile on his youngest sibling's face. Yakko turned back to look at the dress, and could tell it would suit her well. Dot always was one for "standing out," and this dress would definitely get her some attention.  
Her dress was apparently the correct color of pink, a lighter shade, and extremely ruffly. The best way Yakko could describe the dress would be as a "princess dress." Dot bounded into the dressing room, returning only seconds later with the dress on. Yakko, whom barely had time to sit back down in his uncomfortable chair, nodded as he saw his sister beaming in the mirror placed just outside the dressing room. She twirled a few times to see the back and to play with the ruffles, and turned to Yakko. Yakko knew exactly what she would say, even before she had said it.  
"This is the one." Yakko nodded again, and got up out of his chair to inspect it, mainly the price. The tag showed a few extra zeroes than Yakko would spend on a dress, but what does he know? He's just a boy…  
"Alright, we can get you this one, but go take it off so it doesn't get damaged. Wakko is still running loose around here, he may come in for the kill." With a face of anger yet terror, Dot made her way back into the room to change. Once dressed she came back out. She handed the dress to Yakko who proceeded to bring it to the front desk to be paid for. Quickly scanning the room, he failed to see his brother amid all the pink and frilly things. Yakko paid for the dress, and handed it back to Dot as Wakko came bounding out of a rack of blue dresses.  
"Can we leave now? I don't think I can do this any longer guys." Wakko slowed near his siblings as they all began to walk out the door.  
"Well, Wakko, I did get my dress… But of course, I still need my shoes." Dot said in an almost triumphant manor. Wakko groaned audibly, while Yakko's groan was internal. Shoe shopping seemed almost more boring than dress shopping, and he figured it would probably take longer too, as Dot will have to get the correct color and style to match. His day was far from over.

The next morning, Yakko planned on sleeping in. He had just spent about twelve hours moving from store to store, and he felt the he deserved a break. He had been wrong on his assumption of shoe shopping taking longer. Dress shopping had taken much longer, as they only had to go to three or four shoe stores before they found what Dot had been looking for. The shoes were much more in his price range, and he was pleased with the shoe's look. He may not know as much about fashion as his sister, but he did like the shoes… And his sister's face when she saw them…  
Yakko had been sleeping peacefully when his sister tapped him on the shoulder. Instead of a real response, Yakko just grunted in acknowledgment. What could his sister want? He was a very tired toon, and wanted to fully sleep off the previous day.  
"Yakko, can I go out?" Yakko groaned out a "Whatever," as his sister raced out of their shared room. An incident with Wakko, a hotdog vendor, a surfboard, a literal barrel of monkeys, and a jackhammer taught Yakko that whether his siblings were old enough to make their own decisions or not, they would need to ask before leaving the water tower. He is still cleaning ketchup out of his fur. Yakko let himself fall back asleep for at least a few more hours.

"You know you can't live without the 'SuperSucker' Vacuum. For just three low payments of $19.95 this wonderful, must have item, can be yours-" Yakko had woken up barely two hours ago, and holding true to his ideal "lazy day," he simply made his way to the living room to watch some educational television, in other words, infomercials. Yakko had slumped into the old chair he was usually found in, and was letting his hours tick by.  
"Yakko, I did it!" To a peaceful Yakko's dismay, Dot came yelling into the water tower. She ran over to her startled older brother, and began shaking him. "I did it!" Half annoyed, yet half curious, Yakko decided to beg the question.  
"You did what? What did you- Stop shaking me!" Dot jumped up onto the chair, nearly crushing her poor brother, as she leaned in to shout in his face.  
"I got a date, Yakko!" Yakko stared back at his sister's glimmering eyes.  
"A date?-"  
"Yes!" Dot interrupted, jumping up off of her brother onto the floor. Bouncing on her toes, she waited for Yakko to join her in excitement.  
"Dot, it's not a prom, you don't have to have a date. It's just a dance for the toons to mingle with other studios. You could just hang out with us if you wanted." Although he knew his attempts would be futile, Yakko still tried to get Dot off of the idea of a date. The last few formal events, Dot had gotten a date, and it usually ended with Dot locking herself in their room. She had a way of picking out the "players" who didn't really want to spend the night with his sister, rather just take the free invitation to the party.  
"But Yakko, he's different. And dreamy. And, and. Helloooo Nurse!" Yakko leaned forward in his chair, and spoke.  
"Oh, I see. Well, as long as he takes care of my little sister sibling, all should be fine." Yakko reached forward, and pulled his sister close to rub his nose on her's. With a giggle, Dot pushed him back, and tried once again to reassure him that she'd be fine. Somehow he felt like it would be a bad idea anyway.

Once again, Yakko was woken up by his sister, but this time she was adamant that he get up as well. In her defense, it was the day of the dance, and Wakko was being overly annoying. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, Yakko looked at the clock. He was delighted to see 9:30am. Usually his siblings arguing on a "special day" got him up around 6:30am.  
Once in the kitchen, Yakko noticed a bowl of cereal set out for him. He scrunched his nose as he realized that it must have been out for awhile already. The cereal was soggy, and the milk was room temperature. He dumped the apparently forgotten cereal, and got some fresh instead. Today was a big day, he couldn't be sick today. Dot would never let him live it down. Yakko found there was no real milk left, and he groaned as he reached for the soy milk. At one point, he had had the fear of being lactose intolerant, and would only use soy milk. Turns out he just had had expired milk the day of the worst stomach ache he'd ever experienced.  
He checked the date, as he has become accustomed to doing after the incident, then he brought it to the table. He cringed at the taste, as he still was not accustomed to soy. He survived through the bowl as he had to have breakfast, and put his bowl in the sink. He made his way out of the kitchen just in time to get hit in the face with a pillow. The collision had knocked him off his feet. Yakko grabbed the pillow, then looked up. Just as he looked at his siblings, they each pointed to the other. Yakko chuckled, and threw the pillow at Wakko. He blocked it with the pillow currently in his hand.  
"I didn't even throw it, Yakko!" With a smile, Yakko shook his head. He pulled himself to his feet, and walked past his siblings towards his infamous chair.  
"It'd be fantastic if I could go the rest of the day without getting an onslaught of pillows."  
Only a few hours later, Wakko came bouncing into the living room still in his pajamas, and torment scrawled on his face. Seeing his brother, Wakko breathed a sigh of relief.  
"Yakko, I've got a level 9 potty emergency, and Dot won't get out of the bathroom! You gotta help me, I'm gonna explode!" Yakko pushed himself off of his chair, and stumbled towards the bathroom. He knocked on the bathroom door, and waited for a response. Nothing. He tried to turn the handle, but it was locked.  
"Dot, come on. The dance doesn't start for a few hours yet. You don't need to get ready right now." After hearing sounds of things on the counter being moved, but no response from his sister, Yakko started knocking again. Dot opened the door just enough to pop her head out, donned with an almost furious look on her face. Yakko stepped back out of fear, but Wakko pushed the door open the rest of the way. Just as Dot opened her mouth to argue, Wakko had shoved her out into the hallway, and locked the door himself. From inside the door, "potty emergency" could be heard being repeated.  
Although she was obviously upset, it seemed to Yakko that she had completed what she had needed to. She looked ready for the party, apart from still being in her pajamas. Dot began to tap her foot impatiently, and Yakko put his hand on her shoulder.  
"The party doesn't start for awhile yet, you'll have time to-"  
"My date wanted to go out to eat first, he said to be ready at four sharp." Yakko looked behind him at the clock strategically placed on the wall. 3:34pm. He looked back at Dot who was beginning to pace. Wakko opened the door, and Dot pushed him out of the way as she went to finish whatever she hadn't yet. Yakko didn't know how she could spend so much time in the bathroom. According to Wakko, she'd been in there for a few hours now, and somehow she still was antsy, thinking she wouldn't be done in time.  
At ten till four, Dot rushed out of the bathroom to get her dress on. Yakko watched as his sister hopped across the hallway trying to get her socks off while still making her way to the room. With a slam and a click, Yakko noted that the bedroom had been locked, just like the bathroom had been. A few minutes later, Dot poked her head out of the bedroom. She looked to Yakko and cleared her throat.  
"Would you mind zipping me?" Yakko walked over to the bedroom, and followed her into it. She closed the door behind him, apparently the fear of Wakko ruining her dress was still clear in her mind. She turned her back to Yakko, and he pulled the zipper up. Turning back to face him, she thanked him.  
"So, that's what took you so long in the bathroom, huh?" Yakko noted the makeup and styled hair on his sister. "I gotta say sib, you seem to know how to use makeup."  
"I'll take that as a compliment." Just as Yakko opened his mouth to respond, Wakko knocked on the door.  
"There's a guy outside waiting for you, Dot." Dot looked towards the clock in a panic. 4:01pm. She shoved Yakko out of her way, and threw open the door. Basically trampling Wakko on the way out, Dot raced to the door. Stopping just before the door to take a second to compose herself. Yakko caught up with her just as she was opening the door to wave her goodbye.  
"Yakko, you'll embarrass me! Go!" Dot tried to push her brother away from the door, but instead he embraced her. Proving to annoy her even more, Dot squealed about him ruining her hair or dress. Yakko let go with a smirk, he'd gotten the desired effect. If he couldn't wave at her, he was gonna hug her and annoy her more. As he closed the infamous WB door after her, he went to find his brother. The party was going to begin in two hours and they needed to be ready.  
Wakko was found hanging off of the side of the couch watching the TV upside down. Yakko leaned over the couch, and tried to get his brother's attention by touching his toes. When he didn't get the desired result, he took to tickling his brother's extended foot. A cringing Wakko rolled off of the couch, slightly startled by the attack. Yakko snickered to himself as his brother got up off the ground and glared at him.  
"Ya need to get ready Wakko, the party is in two hours." Yakko crossed his arms as Wakko did.  
"You should talk, you're in your pajamas too." Yakko knew he could get ready much faster than Wakko, but decided he would humor his brother by agreeing with him. The boys made their way to the bedroom to get their suits on. Unlike dresses, you can basically where the same suit for every affair, and most people won't even question it.

Yakko slipped on his pants, held with his classic belt, and slipped on his shirt. Thoughts of his sister were going through his head. 'She always picks the wrong guy. She always gets her night ruined.' He hated to admit it, but he doubted this guy would be any better, whether she reassured him or not… She always did…  
Yakko had finished buttoning his shirt, and turned to see his brother. Wakko never was one to enjoy getting dressed up, but he never complained about it. Being actors they dress up often and he never saw a point in arguing over this one. Yakko couldn't hide his amusement when he saw his brother sliding his buttons in the wrong slots. The first button in the second slot, the third in the fifth. Yakko pulled the over jacket on, and fixed the sleeves around his wrist. He decided ties were fine, but he really despised his cufflinks. You barely noticed they were there, yet the eldest seemed to fidget with them most of the night.  
Having successfully dressed himself, Yakko decided helping his brother would be for the best. He kneeled next to him, unbuttoned the shirt, and began to fit the buttons in the right slots. Wakko sighed in exasperation as Yakko finished buttoning and began tucking in his shirt.  
"I can tuck in my own shirt, I'm not a baby." Wakko huffed as Yakko finished stuffing his top into his bottoms. Yakko smirked. 'Just like you can button your own shirt…,' Yakko thought as he reached for Wakko's over jacket. The younger ripped it out of his brother's hands and slipped it on. Yakko stood back up to put his tie on. If Wakko thinks he can do it, let him.  
After having tied Wakko's tie, as they both know he can't and he wasn't even going to try, Yakko stood in the mirror admiring his handiwork.  
"You clean up real good there kid," Yakko announced to him. Wakko beamed at the grammatically incorrect compliment.  
"Same to you buckaroo." Yakko turned to his brother with a smirk plastered on his face.  
"Same deal as always?" Yakko asked holding out his hand.  
"Duh." Wakko stated grabbing his hand.  
"Whoever dances with the most girls wins, but what's the prize this time?" Yakko shook his head as his brother suggested something to do with grape jelly and a bikini atop the water tower. A few other unappealing suggestions later, and Yakko came to his own decision. "If you win, I'll take you to get all you can eat ice cream tomorrow. If I win, ehhhhhh, you owe me ten bucks." With some pondering, Wakko decided this deal could work. The boys shook hands once again, and headed out of the water tower. Yakko hoped if he got there early, Dot would already be there and he could ask about her dinner date.

The walk was only a ten minute walk, as the two made their way to soundstage 15. Usually the larger parties were hosted in soundstage 29, but it had recently had fire set to it… It wasn't the Warner's intentions to cause a fire, they simply had chosen the dragon to be their "special friend" that day, and he lost his temper quickly. All in all though, soundstage 15 was closer, and slightly more roomy. Yakko just hoped Plotz wasn't too upset with the damage, and hoped even more that he wouldn't force them to clean it up. Once the Warner's had caused the collapse of a building… Plotz had made them help clean it up, and they had only been given a fifteen minute lunch break that day!  
As Yakko pushed open the double doors, he began to search for his sister. The brothers had entered exactly at 6, and Yakko expected his sister to be there ahead of time. He scanned the room, but couldn't find her. He made his way to the table with their names marked, and noticed it was just them three and Dot's date. 'Yakko Warner' 'Wakko Warner' 'Dot Warner' 'Jim Hawkins'. No one else had been placed with them, but that definitely didn't upset the Warners. They were content with just each other.  
Wakko had found the food, and left Yakko alone at the table. He continued watching the entrance to find his sister. He usually knew the person Dot took to the dances, but he hadn't even asked for his name. A slight wave of panic crept through him as he began thinking the worst. Perhaps he had let his baby sister go off with a madman and he hadn't even tried to stop him. The worry began to grow and grow, until finally, 10 minutes late, Dot entered. Yakko let out a breath that he hadn't even realized he was holding, and went to greet his sister. Upon greeting her, he looked her date over. He recognized the guy to be a protagonist in one of the Disney movies. He would've had an invite already, so it didn't seem like he'd be using his sister solely for an invite.  
Yakko had never seen the movie "Treasure Planet," so he decided to keep off the subject. He shook the much taller toon's hand, and introduced himself.  
"Yakko Warner. Her big brother. Nice to meet ya pal." Everyone knew he was her brother, mainly because they all looked the same, but he still always said it when meeting her dates. Yakko knew he wasn't intimidating, not really, but if adding the 'Brother' title added any strength to his words to cause her dates fear, he was going to use it.  
The trio made their way over to their table, and noticed Wakko had his first pile of food sitting in front of him. Yakko and Wakko challenged each other at everything, but Yakko knew better than to host an eating competition with his brother. He would never be able to out eat him. Even if Wakko had already had a meal, he always had room for more, which made Yakko nervous to see what the bill for ice cream would be if he lost tonight's competition. It really is true that Wakko packs away the snacks.  
Wakko didn't talk much as he was indulging himself in the free buffet, but the other three held a conversation until Plotz gave his usual toast at these events.  
"Thanks for those of you who came. Some of us may feel like rivals, but really being in entertainment we have to work together to appeal to the masses. Enjoy your meal, and please partake in the dancing.-" Of course there's more to his speech. Plotz never stops talking. Yakko lip synced every word to his siblings, getting a giggle from Dot, and a choked laugh from Wakko.  
After the usual toast, the music starts, and Yakko and Wakko bow to each other as their competition begins. Yakko tries to be as polite as he can when asking, while Wakko even goes far enough as to pull people's dates away from each other and begin dancing with the girl. He must just really want that ice cream. The rules are simple. You can't tell your dance partner of the game and they have to dance with you willingly for at least ten seconds. Last rule is you can't walk away from the dance. Only the girl can, and sometimes Wakko just doesn't have the patience. For most of the time Yakko tries to keep an eye on Dot, usually spotting her somewhere on the dancefloor still with her partner. Yakko and Wakko kept up with each other's score.

A few hours, and Yakko has almost lost count of who he's danced with. You're not supposed to dance with the same person more than once, but the brothers decided that sometimes it's hard to remember who you've danced with and who you haven't, so that rule was scrapped.  
Yakko looked up to find his sister, realizing he hadn't checked for her for awhile, but didn't see her. He walked back out to the table area where there were still couples mingling with others. He saw Dot over at the table head hung and Jim nowhere in sight.  
"I hate always being right." Yakko shook his head, and walked over to Dot. He kneeled down in front of her, and when she saw him, she closed her eyes. He could see the smeared makeup and tear stains on her fur. He sighed, and helped her down off of her chair. They headed towards the bathroom and Dot checked to see if it was empty. When she said it was, Yakko pushed the door open and followed her in. Yakko lifted her up and put her on the counter next to the sink. WIthout a word, he grabbed a paper towel and began drying her eyes. She didn't make eye contact with him, and instead of talking played with the buttons on the front of his shirt.  
Not too long after Yakko had finished drying her eyes, the door was pushed open slightly revealing Wakko with his eyes closed.  
"Dot, are you in here? Yakko?" Yakko snickered. At least his brother was somewhat respective of women if he had his eyes closed. Either that, or he's gotten bopped one too many times from trying to sneak into the ladies room.  
"Yeah, you can open your eyes." Yakko said holding the door open for his brother. Wakko peered around, not seeming to believe his brother, but realized he wasn't lying.  
"What happened? I went to tell Yakko my score, it's 29 by the way, and I couldn't find him. Why are you in here." Yakko looked to Dot, who had already been looking at him. His face softened when he could see the tears reforming. "Oh, I get it. You know he seemed dumb even just standing outside of the water tower. Honestly? My bets were on him being a vampire -" A slight giggle coming from Dot gave Wakko a smile. With a smile of his own, Yakko lifted Dot off of the counter, and rubbed her nose with his again.  
"Come on sibs, we got a party to get back to. By the way Wakko, I'm at 34 girls." Wakko huffed and held the door for Dot, but let it close on pulled the door open and Wakko stuck his tongue out at him. Being the responsible and grown up older brother he was, Yakko returned the action.  
Just as the trio reached the table, and Dot sat down, the DJ announced the last song of the night. Dot kept her head hung until Wakko nudged her shoulder. She looked up at him slightly upset, but he pointed towards Yakko. The little girl's eyes widen seeing his hand extended towards her. She looked up to see in his eyes. A smile spread on her face, as a smile crossed his. Dot grabbed her brother's hand, and he lead her out to the dance floor. They went to the corner of the room, and positioned themselves. Dot's shoes helped give her some height, but she was still much shorter. She struggled to reach around his neck, as he chuckled at her. She gave in, and simply hugged onto him, no longer caring if his embrace screwed up her hair or dress.  
People had begun to leave the soundstage and head home even before the song ended, but not the Warners. At the conclusion of the song, Wakko ran up to his other two siblings. Yakko eyed his brother waiting for him to speak, as he held a suspicious atmosphere.  
"35, I win!" Yakko's eyes grew, he'd forgotten the contest, upon having a realization he smirked.  
"Seems then, we are both at 35, and tied." Wakko's triumphant face dropped. Dot was a girl, and so she counted. Wakko narrowed his eyes at his brother.  
"What do we do if it's a tie?"  
"We can go get ice cream tomorrow, but I'm paying for only $10 of yours. You get to cover the rest." Wakko shrugged, even $10 worth of free ice cream was ideal for him.  
As the kids made their way out of the building, they past a few of the couples still talking to each other giving him a thought. Dot wasn't going to learn from this, she never has before. The next formal, she would come jumping into their home exclaiming about a date, and Yakko would be skeptic once again, but there's not much he can do before hand. Really the only thing he could do for her would to be there for her after he left, and who knows… Maybe next time he really would be different. Yakko sighed plagued with doubt. Probably not any better, but a brother could hope, right?


End file.
